YOU HAVE PERHAPS HEARD THE PHRASE THAT HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE? “Yes. Yes, of course.” Death nodded. IN TIME, he said, YOU WILL LEARN THAT IT IS WRONG.

More from Small Gods

• And it came to pass that in time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the Chosen One: “Psst!”
• Bishops move diagonally. That’s why they often turn up where the kings don’t expect them to be.
• Brother Preptil, the master of the music, had described Brutha’s voice as putting him in mind of a disappointed vulture arriving too late at the dead donkey.
• I’m on everyone’s side. It’d be nice if, just for once, someone was on mine.
• Dhblah sidled closer. This was not hard. Dhblah sidled everywhere. Crabs thought he walked sideways.
• Give anyone a lever long enough and they can change the world. It’s unreliable levers that are the problem.